Cam Neely
Cam Neely= From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search '''Cameron Michael Neely''' (born June 6, 1965) is a retired [[Canadians|Canadian]] professional [[Ice hockey|ice hockey]] player. He played [[Winger (ice hockey)|right wing]] for the [[Vancouver Canucks]] and [[Boston Bruins]] of the [[National Hockey League]] from 1983 to 1996. He currently serves as the president of the Boston Bruins. [[[Cam Neely|edit]]] Playing career Cam Neely was born in [[Comox, British Columbia]]. He played hockey with the Ridge Meadows Hockey Association for the majority of his minor career and has been named to the [[Maple Ridge, British Columbia|Maple Ridge]] honorable people list. After a stellar season with the [[Portland Winter Hawks]] of the [[Western Hockey League]] in which he led the team to the [[Memorial Cup|Memorial Cup Championship]], becoming the first US-based team to claim the Cup, he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks ninth overall in the [[1983 NHL Entry Draft|1983 entry draft]]. He played three seasons with the Canucks before being traded along with a draft pick (1st choice, 3rd overall in the [[1987 NHL Entry Draft]], used to take [[Glen Wesley]]) to the Boston Bruins for [[Barry Pederson]]. Canucks head coach [[Tom Watt]] was not impressed with Neely's defense (Neely was 20 at this time), and that was what made him tradeable. Neely said "I was playing behind [[Stan Smyl]] and [[Tony Tanti]], so I didn't see a lot of ice time, and, certainly not on the power plays."[1] Almost immediately, it became apparent that the Bruins had received the better of the deal. Neely stated that "I was surprised at the trade. I really didn't know what to expect once I got to Boston and had no idea that my career would turn out the way it did for those ten years. From Day One in training camp, I just wanted to get the opportunity to play. The coaches said, 'Let's see what he can do.' As time went by, I got more and more confidence. I never really thought I'd be a 50-goal scorer, but I was given a chance to contribute offensively, not just physically."[1] In his first full season following the trade, Neely's 36 goals led the club, and his 72 points more than doubled his previous year's performance. In the same season, he also spent 143 minutes in the penalty box "[[Mike Milbury]] said, 'I want you to think about what you're doing by putting yourself into the penalty box. If you're going to fight, make sure it's on your terms and not just because someone is challenging you.' He was trying to make me understand who I was going in the box with. He'd say, 'I don't want to take away from you dropping your gloves, but, I don't want you to think about not doing it. I just want you to think about how your reaction affects both their team and our team.' So it got me to thinking a little more about my role. Then, I began going with my instincts more and what felt right at that moment."[1] Neely's success stemmed largely from his hard, accurate shot, quick release, and his willingness to engage in the more physical aspects of the game. At 6 ft 1 in and 215 lb, Neely was as devastating with his body checks and fists as he was with his goal scoring exploits. He became the archetype of the ultimate [[Power forward (hockey)|power forward]] and earned the nickname 'Bam-Bam Cam'. On May 3, 1991, during Game 3 of the 1991 [[Prince of Wales Conference]] Finals, Neely was checked by [[Ulf Samuelsson]], and injured on the play, and was hit again to the knee in game 6. Compounding the situation was the fact that Neely developed [[Myositis ossificans|myositis ossificans]] in the injured area. The injury kept Neely out of all but 22 games of the next two seasons, and Neely would only play 162 NHL games for the remainder of his career after the hit because of knee trouble. Even so, Neely he still recorded some remarkable scoring feats. Only [[Wayne Gretzky]], [[Mario Lemieux]], and [[Brett Hull]] scored a better goals per game average over the course of an NHL season than Neely did with his 50-goals-in-44-games in the [[1993–94 NHL season|1993–94 season]] (despite missing 33 games that season). Also, only ten players in NHL history scored a better goals per game average over their career than Neely. He reached the fifty goal mark three times, played in five All-Star games, and was named the league's Second Team All-Star at [[Winger (ice hockey)|right wing]] in [[1987–88 NHL season|1988]], [[1989–90 NHL season|1990]], [[1990–91 NHL season|1991]], and [[1993–94 NHL season|1994]]. In the [[1993–94 NHL season|1993–94 season]] Neely scored his 50th goal in his 44th game; only Gretzky has scored 50 goals in fewer games. This milestone is unofficial as the 50 goals must be scored in the first 50 games the team plays, counting from the start of the season. Other players have also "unofficially" reached this milestone, such as [[Alexander Mogilny]], [[Jari Kurri]], and [[Bobby Hull]]. He was regularly listed as a healthy scratch in alternate games in order to rest his ailing knee, but it would be a degenerative hip condition that forced Neely to retire after the [[1995–96 NHL season|1995–96]] season at the age of 31. Cam Neely's intense efforts to come back time and again from his devastating injuries were recognized with his winning of the [[Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy|Masterton Trophy]] after the 1993–94 season. The Bruins have since retired #'''8''' in his honor, making him the tenth player to have a number retired by the team. In November 1998, Neely attempted a comeback after being out of hockey for two years. Neely said this in a 2008 interview about it: I wish that my lungs felt as good as my hip. If I last four days (of practice) in a row and my hip's barking at me, then that's all she wrote. I know how I felt when I had to retire and I know how I'm feeling now. It's not really how I want to feel. It was fun while I was out there but each day I skated, the pain just kind of lingered a lot longer than I would have liked. I was feeling really good and had started getting some different treatment. I practiced a few times with the Bruins but after some really hard practices, realized there was just no way I could continue."[1] Neely was inducted into the [[Hockey Hall of Fame]] in 2005. He said "To be honest, I never concerned myself too much with the Hall of Fame, just like I never concerned myself with numbers when I played," he said. "I just tried to do my best and work hard. Whether I played well or not was another story."[1] On September 25, 2007, Neely was appointed Vice President of the [[Boston Bruins]],[2] and was named President of the team on June 16, 2010.[3] On Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Neely did as President of the team that he could not do as a player. His team won the Stanley Cup, when the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 to win the final series 4 games to 3. [[[Cam Neely|edit]]] Personal life Off the ice, Neely's personal family tragedies, with both his parents dying of cancer, have made him very aware of those whose circumstances are less fortunate than his own. Today, Neely remains active in the ''Cam Neely Foundation'' run in conjunction with the [[Tufts Medical Center|New England Medical Center]], where patients and their families avail themselves of accommodation at the "Neely House" while undergoing cancer treatments.[4] Neely has also appeared on close friend [[Denis Leary]]'s series ''[[Rescue Me (TV series)|Rescue Me]]'', playing a hockey-playing firefighter who wreaks havoc during a [[NYPD]] vs. [[FDNY]] game. Neely also made a cameo in the eighth-season opening episode of the television series [[Cheers]], entitled "The Improbable Dream", as a bar patron, drinking quietly, and later talking to several women as the jokes fly around him. Neely also had a cameos in the movies ''[[Stuck on You (film)|Stuck on You]]'' and in ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]'' as the character Sea Bass. Sea Bass was brought back as a smaller cameo role in the film ''[[Me, Myself & Irene]]''. Neely also had a cameo for Boston based band [[Extreme (band)|Extreme]] in their video for the song "[[Hole Hearted]]" where he's seen playing a guitar alongside the band. Former [[World Wrestling Entertainment]] personality [[Justin LaRouche]] wrestled for the company's [[ECW on Sci Fi|ECW]] brand under the moniker "Bam Neely", which is a take off Cam Neely's name as well as his nickname 'Bam-Bam Cam'. Neely is married to Paulina and has 2 kids; son Jack, born in 1998, and daughter Ava, born in 2000.[5][6] Neely sits on the Board of Directors of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc., which was created by an IPO by Intrawest Corp. on November 1, 2010. Within that Board, he is a Member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.[7] [[[Cam Neely|edit]]] Career statistics=